1. Technical Field
This application relates to vehicle security, with regards especially to both the prevention of false alarms and decreased response time to actual alarms. More specifically, the application relates to the combined use of on-board cameras and cellular telephones to allow the owner of a vehicle to (a) be alerted when an alarm is triggered, (b) view the vehicle interior and/or immediate area, and (c) respond by either turning off the alarm or calling the police.
2. Description of Related Art
Vehicle theft is widespread and can cause the loss of a sizeable investment to a user. The most common type of vehicle protection system uses an alarm that goes off when a thief attempts to open the vehicle. Unfortunately, these alarms can often be triggered unintentionally, such as when a person or another vehicle bumps the armed vehicle. Even strong vibrations, such as from a nearby clap of thunder during a storm, or a 21-gun salute during the funeral of an ex-President, can set off a false alarm.
Many additional types of vehicle alarms have been suggested. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,081,667 to Drori et al. discloses integrating a cellular phone installed in a vehicle with the vehicle security system, such that after integration, the user can start or monitor the engine from any phone, can program in a phone number at which the user can be reached in case of intrusion into the vehicle, or can initiate listening or two-way conversations with the intruder.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 2002/0096132 to Parker Jr. et al. discloses an embedded pager or cell phone carried as part of a vehicle security system. In one embodiment, an intrusion causes a camera on the dashboard of the vehicle to take a picture of the driver, which can then be forwarded to the user's cell phone.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,027,104 to Reid utilizes a number of hidden cameras in various positions around a vehicle. The security device can send an alarm to the owner, using a given frequency, when an intrusion is detected, and one embodiment can then send a video signal from the cameras to a hand-held monitor in the user's possession.
While these inventions are aimed at apprehending an auto thief, they do not take into consideration the nuisance factor of false alarms, nor do they enable a response to such a false alarm. Therefore, it would be desirable to have an easy means for a user to be notified when their car alarm goes off and to not only be able to distinguish between a theft-in-progress and a false alarm, but to be able to turn off the alarm remotely for a false alarm.